This week, I've transformed a traditional breakfast dish into a cupcake. According to Wiki, the earliest known reference to French toast is in the Apicius, a collection of Latin recipes dating to the 4th or 5th century; there's a 14th-century German recipe: "Arme Ritter" and a 15th-century English recipe for "pain perdu". Interestingly, there is a 1660 recipe for "French Toasts" which is quite different: toasted bread is soaked in wine, sugar, and orange juice. Though there are several variations to this part of a complete breakfast, I settled on the cinnamon raisin rendition complimented by a maple butter cream frosting sprinkled with walnut and bacon crumbs.
French Toast Cakes
(adapted from Inspired Magazine by Compliments)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
14 slices cinnamon raisin bread, cubed (9/slice)
Preheat the oven to 350oF. Grease pan(s).
In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Add the cubed bread and toss gently until egg mixture has been absorbed. Divide the batter into the pan(s) and place into the oven, baking for 20 minutes. This recipe yielded 16 regular sized but short cakes.
Maple Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 oz cream cheese
2 cups icing/confectioner sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp whipping cream
Cream together the butter and cheese until smooth. Add in the sugar until well combined. Mix in the final ingredients.
I topped each of the cakes with crumble bacon and chopped walnuts.
(adapted from Inspired Magazine by Compliments)
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
14 slices cinnamon raisin bread, cubed (9/slice)
Preheat the oven to 350oF. Grease pan(s).
In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Add the cubed bread and toss gently until egg mixture has been absorbed. Divide the batter into the pan(s) and place into the oven, baking for 20 minutes. This recipe yielded 16 regular sized but short cakes.
Maple Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 oz cream cheese
2 cups icing/confectioner sugar
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp whipping cream
Cream together the butter and cheese until smooth. Add in the sugar until well combined. Mix in the final ingredients.
I topped each of the cakes with crumble bacon and chopped walnuts.
The Panel
The comprehensive consensus was that "Rise and Shine" presented an ideal breakfast treat with a warm and inviting presentation. The cinnamon came through nicely while the bacon added a nice salty crunch (CrazyCakes, Peanut and Kupcake pleaded for more). Though the walnuts also added a bit of crunch, it seems their presence was more for texture and presentation than flavor. The majority of the panel enjoyed the elevated moisture level of the cakes, similar to french toast in it's true form, while some found it to be a little on the wet side. Comments were made that the frosting was an excellent compliment though I can't help but agree with JRock that the maple was on the subtle side.
Giovanni: To see the familiar flavors in a novel form evokes intrigue and desire. The difference between the crunch on top and the soft chewiness of the cake was too far apart.
Eat Freak: "Beautiful appearance. Frosting was a 10: good thickness, sweetness, paired well with the cake."
Kupcake: "THIS FROSTING IS DEFINITELY IN MY TOP 5!!!"
My comments:
The comprehensive consensus was that "Rise and Shine" presented an ideal breakfast treat with a warm and inviting presentation. The cinnamon came through nicely while the bacon added a nice salty crunch (CrazyCakes, Peanut and Kupcake pleaded for more). Though the walnuts also added a bit of crunch, it seems their presence was more for texture and presentation than flavor. The majority of the panel enjoyed the elevated moisture level of the cakes, similar to french toast in it's true form, while some found it to be a little on the wet side. Comments were made that the frosting was an excellent compliment though I can't help but agree with JRock that the maple was on the subtle side.
Giovanni: To see the familiar flavors in a novel form evokes intrigue and desire. The difference between the crunch on top and the soft chewiness of the cake was too far apart.
Eat Freak: "Beautiful appearance. Frosting was a 10: good thickness, sweetness, paired well with the cake."
Kupcake: "THIS FROSTING IS DEFINITELY IN MY TOP 5!!!"
My comments:
Visually, I was very intrigued by the "loose" appearance of these cakes since they appear as a pile of bread chunks but they maintained a great level of cohesiveness. The aroma was excellent and all of the flavors seemed to come through, though some more strongly than others. That being said, I would have liked to drizzle each with a bit of maple syrup to add to the maple buttercream. I agree that the moisture level may have been a little high and that they probably could have been baked for another couple minutes.
More maple. Bake a little longer.